Answers to your insurance questions

General Motors Corp. (GM) has agreed that the reorganized company will assume liability for future product defect claims.

The new company is 60% owned by the U.S. government, 11.7% owned by the Canadian government and the province of Ontario, with the remaining 17.5% owned by the United Auto Workers Union.

A consumer with a lawsuit pending against GM will have their wrongful death and injury claims paid from the balance of the assets left after the restructuring. There is concern that the product liability claims will have a ceiling of $35 million.

GM has accepted responsibility to pay claims for a replacement or refund for defective vehicles.

The insurance answer is that insurance is still there when a company goes bankrupt but there can be some real concerns about the limit payable.

If you have a claim against GM or Chrysler you should be consulting with your legal counsel. If your claim involves a vehicle accident then your broker or agent will assist you in contacting your insurance adjuster to help resolve your case.